Rothschild Boulevard has always been one of the grandest streets in Tel Aviv, with its broad tree-lined central promenade and elegant Bauhaus architecture.
The cafes, kiosks and benches teem with young entrepreneurs who seem to survive on a diet of caffeine and wi-fi. Of Israels 5,000 tech companies, city planners have counted 600 start-ups in the single square mile around Rothschild. Israel has more companies on Nasdaq than any country beside the US and China, and it attracts more venture funding per capita than anywhere in the world. Its tech sector employs 230,000 people in a population of eight million, earning more than a quarter of the countrys total exports.
There are similar tech hubs in many cities throughout the world, but Avner Warner, Director of International Economic Development at the Tel Aviv Global City Administration, says
Tel Aviv stands apart because of a single overriding influence on early-stage Israeli companies: the Israeli armed forces.
BBC - Future - Technology - Israel: Boot camp for start-up success